The Veteran's claims for service connection for a dental disorder, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, cervical strain, residuals of vein harvest on the left lower extremity, right and left knee chondromalacia, and scar of the left inner thigh were denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support the presence of chronic osteomyelitis or other dental conditions necessary for service connection. The Veteran's degenerative joint disease, cervical strain, vein harvest residuals, and knee chondromalacia were evaluated based on their current manifestations but did not warrant higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Cervical strain, Residuals of vein harvest on the left lower extremity, Right knee chondromalacia, Left knee chondromalacia, Scar of the left inner thigh, from the ankle to the groin
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0906257
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0906257.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his low back disability is being remanded due to the reduction in evaluation from 40 percent to 20 percent effective May 31, 2014. The RO needs to provide updated VA treatment records and schedule a VA examination to determine the current severity of the disability.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied extraschedular ratings for the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to February 3, 2011.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for cervical strain, service connection for left leg pain (claimed as joint pain), and service connection for a left ear hearing condition are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical strain, low back disability, bilateral upper extremity peripheral nerve disability, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral nerve disability. The conditions are related to the Veteran's active service.
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